Newport Professional Fire Fighters

This Agreement, entered into by the City of Newport, Oregon, hereinafter called the "City," and the Newport Professional Fire Fighters, Local 4619, hereinafter called the "Union”, as its purpose, sets forth the full and complete agreement between the City and the Union.

In all instances, this contract between the City and the Union shall take precedence over conflicting rules and regulations. Refer to the Newport City Employee Handbook for any rules or regulations not addressed in this Agreement.

The bargaining unit shall consist of all full-time, paid Fire Department employees working for the City of Newport except for temporary, seasonal, supervisory, clerical, and confidential employees. The Union is recognized as the sole and exclusive bargaining agent for all employees in the bargaining unit as provided in the Public Employee Collective Bargaining Act (PECBA).

In the event that the City intends to create a new job classification, which is properly within the bargaining unit, it shall provide a copy of the job description to the Union and establish a temporary salary rate. The Agreement will then be subject to reopening to include only such new classification under the scope of this Agreement. The City shall not be precluded from filling the position during the period of negotiations.

Except as expressly modified or restricted by a specific provision of this Agreement, all charter, statutory and other managerial rights, prerogatives, and functions are retained and vested exclusively in the City, including, by way of description and not limitations, the rights, in accordance with its sole and exclusive judgment and discretion:

to direct and supervise all operations and functions;

to manage and direct the work force; including, by way of description and not limitation, the right to determine the methods, processes, locations and manner of performing work;

to close or liquidate an office, branch, operation, department or facility or combination of facilities, or to relocate, reorganize or combine the work of divisions, offices, branches, operations or facilities for budgetary or other reasons;

to hire, promote and retain employees;

to determine schedules of work;

to determine the need for a reduction or an increase in the work force;

to implement new and to revise or discard, wholly or in part, methods, procedures, materials, equipment, facilities and standards.

to assign employees to duties for periods to be determined by the City.

Utilization of any management rights not specifically limited by this Agreement shall be at the City’s discretion and not subject to the grievance procedure or negotiation, unless the matter is a mandatory subject of bargaining as required by PECBA.

2.2 Overpayment

If the City overpays an employee for any reason or provides benefits for an employee that the employee was not entitled to the City may recover the amount of the overpayment or the cost of benefits that the employee was not eligible for by deducting the amount of overpayment or unearned benefits from the employees pay. The deductions shall not exceed 25% of the employees pay for any period. The City and the employee may agree to a repayment schedule. In the absence of a repayment schedule agreement, the City may deduct pay as provided for in this section.

Seniority shall be defined as the total length of continuous employment within the bargaining unit of the City of Newport.

Seniority shall be terminated if an employee:

Resigns;

Is discharged for just cause;

Is laid off and fails to respond to a written notice of recall;

Is retired;

Leave of absence without pay;

Layoff of more than two (2) years.

If, for any reason, in the judgment of the city, there is a reduction in any job classification within the bargaining unit workforce, employees within the job classification with the least amount of bargaining unit seniority will be laid off first. The employee shall be notified in writing at least thirty (30) days prior to the effective date of such layoff. Rehiring of employees laid off will be in reverse order of layoff. In the event of layoffs, employees will have the opportunity to “bump” down to the next lower level provided they are qualified for that position and have seniority over those at that lower level.

Every employee hired into the bargaining unit shall serve a probationary period of six (6) months. Any interruption of service, except for incidental amounts of sick or injury leave shall not be counted as part of such period. The provisions of this Article do not preclude the Union or the employee from using the grievance procedure regarding matters other than job rights. A probationary employee may be disciplined or discharged without recourse to the grievance procedure for failure to perform to departmental standards. This section applies to new hires only.

Upon the completion of the six (6) month probation period the employee will be evaluated and the end of the probation status will be determined. If the employee is not evaluated by the six (6) month time period the employee will automatically be removed from probation and assume regular full time status. If the employee receives an unfavorable review during the probationary period, the employees’ probation may be extended up to six (6) additional months at the discretion of the City.

Upon receipt of signed authorization by each member of the Union, the City agrees to deduct from each member’s monthly paycheck the amount specified by the Union. The City agrees to remit the aggregate of the deductions monthly to the Treasurer of the Union on behalf of the employees involved.

The performance of this service by the City is at no cost to the Union.

The parties agree that the provisions of ORS 243.650(10) and ORS 243.666, regarding fair share, shall be applied to all employees in the bargaining unit who decline membership in the Union and that the Union shall inform those employees of their obligations to pay fair share contributions.

An individual employee who does not join the Union based on bona fide religious tenets or teachings of a Church or religious body of which such employee is a member shall not be required to pay dues or fair share payments; but such an employee shall be required to pay an amount equivalent to fair share to a non-religious charity or to another charitable organization mutually agreed upon by said employee and the Union, as provided for in ORS 243.666. The employee shall furnish written proof to the City and Union that this has been done.

Employees of the City who were previously employed within the bargaining unit and were subsequently promoted to a higher paying position not within the bargaining unit may be referred to their prior bargaining unit classification within one (1) year of such promotion without loss of bargaining unit seniority. However, the time spent in the higher classification work will not be counted toward seniority credit. Such time shall be considered equivalent to a non-paid leave.

The parties agree to maintain the Newport Fire Department Safety Committee comprised of representatives of both the City and Union. This committee will meet quarterly to discuss issues of mutual concern.

No information reflecting critically upon employees shall be placed in their personnel files until the employee has had an opportunity to sign the document. The employee’s signature on the document will not be an affirmation of agreement with the contents of the document.

To the extent allowable by the operational requirements of the Department, an employee previously designated, to the City by the Union, as a representative and any employee who files a grievance may be allowed time off from regular duties for the purpose of meeting with representatives of the City on grievance matters.

Also, at the discretion of the Employer and consistent with law, on duty employees may attend previously scheduled quarterly Union meetings while on duty, as long as such employees are immediately available for their duties if needed.

The Unionshall be allowed one (1) employee to attend scheduled contract negotiations and one (1) employee representative to attend grievance meetings while on duty. Employees selected shall suffer no loss of pay or other benefits as a result of their attendance at such meetings. The Union shall certify in writing the names of the employees that would attend such meetings.

The City will notify the Union of all new hires within one (1) week after their having been employed, furnishing the Union with the new employee's name, mailing address and position for which he or she was hired.

The City will allow the Union to maintain bulletin board space at a reasonable location approved by the Department to be used by the Union for the posting of notices and bulletins relating to the Union. All items so posted will bear the signature of an official of the Union.

Provided the City acts in compliance with the provisions of this Article, the Union will indemnify, defend and hold the City harmless against any claims made and against any suit instituted against the City as a result of the City's enforcement of the above provisions or as a result of check off errors.

The City will allow the Union to place, at its own cost, a file cabinet on City premises. Said cabinet is the property of the Union and shall be locked and accessible to Union officers. The file cabinet will be standard size and be located in the copy room at the main fire station. The Union will hold the City harmless for any negligence, not on the part of the City, for damages or breaches of security to the file cabinet.

Hours worked shall be comprised of all the time during which an employee is necessarily required to be on the City’s premises on duty or at a prescribed work place. Paid regular hours, vacation, sick leave, compensatory and jury leave are considered hours worked for purposes of calculating overtime.

The normal hours in a 28-day tour of duty work schedule, for assigned personnel, shall consist of a 56 hours per week (212 hour/28 day tour of duty work periods under section (k) of FLSA). A 56- hour workweek shall be recognized as 24 consecutive hours on duty, 24 consecutive hours off-duty, 24 consecutive hours on duty 24 consecutive hours off-duty 24 consecutive hours on duty, followed by 96 consecutive hours off-duty.

The work schedule for employees assigned as relief personnel shall also consist of a 56 hour work workweek. However, irregular shifts shall be scheduled to cover vacation days, other time off and unforeseen circumstances. The schedule and adjustments are as determined by the Chief.

Work schedules shall be posted for assigned personnel and shall not be changed with less than seven (7) days advance notice except by mutual consent or in the case of a change in circumstances which was unforeseen seven (7) days in advance.

Employees shall not work in excess of 24 consecutive hours without being followed by a rest period of 8 consecutive hours, except in emergency circumstances, or 48 consecutive hours followed by a rest period of 24 consecutive hours at the discretion of the Chief.

The work schedule for an employee may be modified, if necessary, upon request by the employee and approval by the City, to attend a training course that is approved by the Fire Chief. The employee will receive overtime compensation for overtime according to the FLSA.

All work performed in excess of 212 hours within the applicable FLSA pay period shall be compensated as overtime. Over time shall be paid at one and one-half (1.5) times the hourly rate of that employee. Overtime shall be computed to the next fifteen (15) minutes.

Full time employees called back to work, as authorized by the Chief or his designee, outside their normal work shift shall receive a minimum of two (2) hours overtime compensation. After the two (2) hour minimum, time will be rounded to the next fifteen (15) minutes. The employee shall remain on duty for the full two (2) hours if the call is completed in less time.

Off-duty, full time employees may respond to calls for service. The employee will be compensated for actual hours worked. Any resulting overtime will be rounded to the next fifteen (15) minutes.

When determining the “next fifteen minutes” for purposes of call back, the 24 hour period, consistent with normally scheduled shifts shall be based on the accumulated time worked.

Employees shall be compensated at a straight time rate for all regular hours worked on their normally scheduled shifts. For such work, employees shall be paid the salaries set forth in Article 13 - Compensation; hourly pay rates are used only to determine compensation for extra duty worked in excess of normally assigned shifts, and for computing overtime compensations. Hours worked in excess of normally scheduled shifts (overtime) will be compensated at one and one-half (1.5) times the normal hourly rate. Overtime shall be computed to the next fifteen (15) minutes.

No employee shall be disciplined or discharged except for just cause. Verbal warnings are not considered to be discipline and may not be protested through the grievance procedure. For the purpose of this Article, warnings and reprimands are considered to be the same as they pertain to discipline.

If the City has reason to discipline an employee, he/she shall make a reasonable effort to impose such discipline in a manner that will not unduly embarrass the employee before other employees or the public.

In the event the City believes an employee may be subject to discipline greater than a written reprimand, the following procedural due process shall be followed prior to the issuance of any discipline:

The employee shall be notified, in writing, of the charg­es or allegations that may subject him/her to discipline.

The employee shall be notified, in writing, of the disciplinary sanctions being consid­ered.

The employee will be given an opportunity to refute the charges or allegations either in writing or orally in an informal hearing.

At his/her request, the employee will be entitled to Union and legal represen­ta­tion at the informal hear­ing.

ARTICLE 8 – GRIEVANCE

For the purpose of this Agreement, a grievance is defined as a dispute about the meaning or interpretation of a particular clause or an alleged violation of the Agreement.

Grievances must be presented within ten (10) calendar days from the occurrence of the event from which the grievance derived, the employee's knowledge thereof or when the employee should have been reasonably aware of the event leading to the grievance. The grievance shall be reduced to writing and signed by the employee or the Union and shall include a statement of the grievance and the facts upon which it is based and the section of the Agreement to which the grievance relates.

Step 1

A copy of the grievance shall be for­warded to the Fire Chief, or his/her designee, who shall, within fifteen (15) calendar days of his receipt of the grievance, render a decision after meeting with the aggrieved employee and/­or the Union representative. If the grievance is not resolved, the employee shall, within ten (10) calendar days of the Fire Chief’s or his/her designee’s, decision, proceed to Step 2.

Step 2

The grievance, along with all pertinent written information shall be submitted to the City Manager, or his/her designee. The City Manager or his/her designee, shall meet with the employee and/or the Union representative and the aggrieved employee and shall render a decision within fifteen (15) calendar days of receipt of advancement of the grievance to Step 2. If the City Manager or his/her designee’s, decision does not resolve the grievance it shall be processed as outlined in Step 3 within ten (10) calendar days of the City Manager's or his/her designee’s, decision.

Step 3

A list of seven (7) Oregon and Washington arbitrators shall be requested from the Employment Relations Board and the parties, beginning with the Association, shall alternately strike one (1) name until one (1) person is left.

The arbitrator shall have the authority to issue subpoenas, examine witnesses and documentary evidence, administer oaths and affirmations, and regulate the course of the arbitration hearing. The arbitrator shall have no power to modify, add to or subtract from the terms of this Agreement and shall be confined to the interpretation and enforcement of this Agreement. The arbitrator's decision shall be in writing and shall be submitted to the parties following the close of the hearing. The arbitrator's decision shall be final and binding on the affected employee(s), the Union and the City.

Either party may request the arbitrator to issue subpoenas but, if issued, the cost of serving the subpoena shall be borne by the party requesting the subpoena. Each party shall be responsible for compensating its own witnesses and representa­tives during the arbitration hearing. The parties shall share the arbitrator's fees and expenses.

The City will consider a written application for leave of absence without pay not to exceed 180 calendar days. The written application must describe the reason for the request and confirm a specified date at which the employee is expected to return to work. The City may terminate or cancel such leave by 30 days written notice mailed to the address given by the employee on his/her written application for such leave. Such leave shall not be approved for the purpose of accepting employment outside the service of the City, and notice that the employee has accepted permanent employment or entered into full-time business or occupation may be accepted by the City as a resignation.

While on un-paid leave the employee will not accrue benefits including paid leave accumulations. The employee may continue insurance coverage at their own expense.

Any employee who is granted a leave of absence without pay under this section and who for any reason fails to return to work immediately upon the expiration or termination of said leave of absence shall be considered as having resigned his/her position with the City.

40 hour employees will accrue sick leave at the rate of eight (8) hours per month; 56 hour employees will accrue sick leave at one-half shift or twelve (12) hours per month. Sick leave may be used from the employee’s initial date of hire. Sick leave may be accumulated to a total of 910 hours for 40-hour employees and 1350 hours for 56-hour employees. Sick leave must be taken for the purposes specified in section 10.2 hereof as a condition precedent to any sick leave payment.

To attend a dentist or physician appointment at the discretion of the Fire Chief, unless such appointment is an emergency.

An employee may utilize accrued sick leave to provide initial care for a member of the immediate family. The immediate family shall be defined as: husband, wife, domestic partner (same sex or opposite sex), children, step-children, sister, brother, mother, father, mother-in-law, father-in-law, grandfather and grandmother so long as these family members reside within the employee’s household. The employer may require the employee provide a doctor’s note for sick leave in excess of three continuous days. If the employee suffers any out-of-pocket expenses to obtain the doctor’s note, not covered by insurance, the employer will reimburse the employee.

Any illness or injury for which the employee receives time-loss payments under Workers’ Compensation laws may either receive the time-loss payment or may submit the payments to the City and use paid leaves to equate to their normal salary. The City will pick up the first three (3) working days lost by the employee due to an on the job illness or injury without any charge against the employees accumulated sick leave. Employees receiving benefits under this section shall not accrue sick leave hours but will continue to receive benefits as provided elsewhere in this agreement.

ARTICLE 11 – HOLIDAY and VACATION LEAVE

Employees working a 40-hour week shall receive New Years Day, Martin Luther King Jr. Birthday, President’s Day, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Veteran’s Day, Thanksgiving Day, Day after Thanksgiving, Christmas Day, the second ½ of the day of Christmas Eve and 1 additional floating holiday. If Christmas falls on a Tuesday the preceding day will be a full day off.

Full time, paid Fire Department employees working a 56 hour work week will receive five (5) shifts off in lieu of holiday leave. The number of shifts shall be prorated for those employees working less than a full calendar year.

Vacation accrual will be calculated on a monthly basis beginning with an employee’s date of employment. Vacation accrual amounts in the first month of employment will be prorated based on the number of hours worked and will be rounded to the nearest two (2) hours. New employees will accrue vacation, but are not eligible to use it until after successfully completing the first six (6) months of employment. Upon separation from the City, an employee will be paid for any unused vacation accrual. However, if an employee terminates during the first six (6) months of employment, no vacation benefits will be paid.

The following chart sets forth the amount of vacation accrual for employees:

(40 Hour Employee)

Years of Service Monthly Accrual Days/Year

0 to 5 years 8.0 hours 12 days

5 to 10 years 10.0 hours 15 days

10 to 15 years 12.0 hours 18 days

15 to 20 years 15.34 hours 23 days

20+ years 16.67 hours 25 days

(56 Hour Employee)

Years of Service Monthly Accrual Days/Year

0 to 5 years 12.0 hours 6 shifts

5 to 10 years 14.0 hours 7 shifts

10 to 15 years 16.0 hours 8 shifts

15 to 20 years 19.34 hours 9.67 shifts

20+ years 20.67 hours 10.34 shifts

An eligible employee accrues vacation benefits for any period during actual work and/or while on paid status. This includes an injured worker who is receiving Workers’ Compensation time-loss benefits. To be credited vacation benefits during partial months, the employee must work or be on the above stated paid status at least one-half of his/her assigned work hours for the month. Vacation benefits do not accrue when an employee is on unpaid status more than one-half of his/her assigned work hours for the month.

56 hour employees may not accumulate vacation leave in excess of fifteen (15) shifts. 40 hour employees may not accumulate vacation leave in excess of thirty (30) working days. Although an employee’s accrual may exceed this amount during the year, the maximum accrual amount is the amount that can be carried over from one calendar year to the next without written permission of the City Manager or designee. The City, at its discretion, may require an employee to use vacation leave prior to maximum accrual. Or the City, at its discretion, may choose to pay the employee for vacation time accrued in excess of the maximum accrual rather than allow for the carryover of vacation time over the maximum accrual, but will not pay for more than 40 hours per year for 40 hour employees and 48 hours per year for 56 hour employees. Accrual balances will be reported on the employees’ monthly pay stub so they can monitor their usage. An employee may continue to accrue time if they exceed the maximum limit because of the cancellation of the vacation by the City, and the employee is unable to reschedule the vacation time prior to the end of the year.

Vacation time shall be scheduled by mutual agreement between the employees and the Chief, or his/her designee, based on the efficient operating needs of the City and availability of relief. The bargaining unit shall typically be allowed one member of the assigned shift force to be off on vacation or holiday per shift, subject to relief availability, except during periods of employee illness or injury over three (3) working days. Vacation time shall be administered as follows:

Employees should turn in a written vacation request at least two weeks prior to desired time off. Less than two weeks notice will not be cause for vacation denial, however granted time off will be strictly at the discretion of the Fire Chief.

In December each employee will have the opportunity to sign-up for (3) three shifts of planned vacation based on seniority at the start of the vacation calendar. This is to allow members some long term vacation planning.

Once each employee has had the opportunity to sign-up for the three shifts of planned vacation based on their seniority, members will be allowed to request additional vacation on a first come basis at any time during the vacation calendar year.

Request for vacation shall be approved or denied as per this Article in writing within one week of receipt of request. If request is denied, an employee may elect to keep the request open pending relief personnel availability or may seek to trade the shift.

Bargaining unit members will be used to fill open positions only when relief personnel or qualified volunteers are not available.

Vacation time may be cancelled in cases of city-wide emergencies by the City Manager.

This article shall not preclude the City from allowing additional employees off on vacation. Bargaining unit members will be afforded the opportunity to schedule-off at least the amount of their yearly vacation accrual each calendar year.

The City will contribute to the cost of the City County Insurance Services, Blue Cross/Blue Shield Plan V-PPP, ODS with Ortho or Willamette Dental, and VSP Visionplans insurancebenefits at the same percentage of required premiums as provided other City employees, but for the duration of this labor agreement, the City’s contribution will be no less than 90%. The remainder shall be paid by the employee through payroll deduction.

In accordance with law and OPERS rules, the City will extend the use of accumulated unused sick leave to increase retirement benefits. This will allow accrued but unused sick leave to be converted to retirement benefits upon retirement as calculated by PERS.

New employees shall be hired at the first step, or at the discretion of the City, may be given whole or partial credit for prior experience, and advanced to each successive step upon the completion of twelve (12) months of continuous service in the preceding step. Denial of step increase may be authorized by the Fire Chief, provided that the employee so affected is served with written notification in advance, outlining the reasons for such action and provided with a written review every six (6) months thereafter as long as such denial remains in effect. Such decisions shall not be arbitrary or capricious on the part of the City.

Existing employees shall receive credit for one year’s service on July 1, 2009, and annually on the same date thereafter.

The City will pay 2% certification pay 1) to an employee who has obtained and maintains an EMT-I certification, or 2) to an employee who has had to surrender the EMT-I certification as the result of obtaining a different certification (excluding an EMT- B), so long as the certification which resulted in the employee surrendering the EMT-I certification is maintained.

Should any Article, section or portion thereof, of this Agreement be held unlawful and unenforceable by any court of competent jurisdiction, such decision of the court shall apply only to the specific Article, section or portion thereof, directly specified in the decision. Upon the issuance of such a decision, the parties agree immediately to negotiate a substitute, if possible, for the invalidated Article, section or portion thereof. This Agreement is subject to amendment, alteration or addition only by subsequent written agreement between and executed by the City and Union where mutually agreeable.

ARTICLE 15 – LABOR-MANAGEMENT COMMITTEE

The Union and the City agree to form a joint labor-management committee. This committee shall be composed of a Union representation team and a City Representation team of equal number, unless mutual agreement otherwise. The labor-management team may meet quarterly to discuss and listen to each other on matters related to labor-management concerns.

ARTICLE 16 - UNIFORMS

16.1 Uniform Replacement

If the City determines the need for and requires that an employee wear a uniform, such uniform shall be provided be the City at City expense. When an employee believes that a uniform is worn beyond repair, he/she shall bring it to the attention of the City. If the City agrees, the uniform or part thereof shall be replaced at City expense. All uniforms shall at all times remain City property. Nothing in this Article or any part of the Agreement shall be construed to imply that the City does not have the sole authority to determine who is to wear uniforms.

16.2 Protective Equipment

The City solely shall determine the final need for protective equipment. If the City requires the possession and use of protective clothing, such protective equipment and clothing shall be provided by the City at City expense. Such protective equipment shall remain the property of the City at all times. An employee who discovers defective protective equipment shall bring it to the attention of the City.

16.3 Uniform Standards

The City will provide bargaining unit employees with all required uniforms, protective clothing and equipment, which meet or exceed reasonable safety standards.

This agreement shall be effective upon execution, unless specifically provided otherwise, and shall remain in effect through June 30, 2011. This Agreement shall automatically be renewed from year to year thereafter, unless by January 1st of the expiring year of the Agreement either party gives written notice to the other of their intent to negotiate a successor Agreement.

This Agreement is executed on this the ___ day of December 2008 by the undersigned:

CITY OF NEWPORT IAFF LOCAL 4619

Approved by City Council on: _____________ Ratified by vote of Union Members

_______________________________ ______________________________

Dale Shaddox, Pro-Tem City Manager Andrew Parker, President

Appendix A

Implementation of step system upon execution of this Agreement:

Newport Firefighter Pay Scale

As of July 1, 2008

56-Hour Work Schedule

Jul-08

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

Hrly

14.81

15.33

15.86

16.42

16.99

17.59

18.21

18.84

19.50

Mo

3,604

3,730

3,860

3,996

4,135

4,280

4,430

4,585

4,745

Annually

43,245

44,759

46,325

47,947

49,625

51,362

53,159

55,020

56,946

40-Hour Work Schedule

Jul-08

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

Hrly

20.79

21.52

22.27

23.05

23.86

24.69

25.56

26.45

27.38

Mo

3,604

3,730

3,860

3,996

4,135

4,280

4,430

4,585

4,745

Annually

43,245

44,759

46,325

47,947

49,625

51,362

53,159

55,020

56,946

Firefighter

New Step

New Monthly

Giles

7.00

4,430

Butterfield

6.00

4,280

Cole

6.00

4,280

Johnson

5.00

4,135

Mathis

5.00

4,135

Parker

3.00

3,860

Murphy

2.00

3,730

Rampley

1.00

3,604

1. Firefighters will be palced on the above wage scale based upon the information in table A-1 (left)

2. Firefigher Rampley will be placed on a rotating/relief 56 hr work schedule

3. Firefighter Murphy will continue as the Training Officer, and will be considered to be on a 40 hr work schedule; however, he will still perform as back-up relief officer when needed. The Chief shall have full discretion to constraing the Training Officer's schedule when necessary to accomplish training functions.

All staff will be paid on a monthly plus OT basis, in accordance with FLSA Regulations and 7K-Exemption Rules upon implementation of this Agreement.

The 2009 and 2010 wage increases will be applied to the first step of the range and then the 3.5% will be maintained between each step.